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Wednesday, February 1, 2017

What is a Super-Imposed Adaptation? (Enchanted Assemblages)

Again.

During my previous string of posts
concerning my adaptation, I had posted something which delineated the
difference between two concepts I called a “Super-imposed Adaptation” and a
“Translated-adaptation”. Since quite a bit of time has passed since that last
post, and because the adaptation in question has changed from one concept to
the other, I thought it prudent to very quickly revisit what these two concepts
mean.

In
short, I had defined a translated-adaptation as something which was more of a
spiritual successor than a direct adaptation; a translated-adaptation was
something like the films Clueless or EasyA,
where classic books are taken and ‘translated’ into contemporary scenarios
which pay homage to the source material while rendering the plots into modern
day situations.

A
super-imposed-adaptation, meanwhile, was an adaptation which more closely
adapted the text in question yet still made some surprising alterations.
Super-imposed adaptation were creations which presented the idea of the text
without a translation into the modern; but, the key here was that such
adaptations differentiated themselves from mere ‘adaptations’ proper, by
including fantastical elements. So contemporary examples of such super-imposed
adaptations would be something like Pride
and Prejudice and Zombies—the core idea of Austen’s text is there, but it
is suffused under this veneer of zombie apocalypse.

Previously,
I had pegged my adaptation as a translated-adaptation, since the original setting
for my Gawain-click adventure was a post-apocalyptic sci-fi universe; the basic
plot remained, but it was encoded as a surreal kind of postmodern tale.

Presently,
though, with the reformulation of my project on to more conventional terms, I—and
probably you—have realized that this version of the adaptation is a
super-imposed adaptation. After all, I am imposing ideas into the story: the
heavy focus on interpretation, Critical Theory as magick embedded into the
land, and others, all make for dramatic departures from the normal Arthurian
canon. Hence, it’s place as a super-imposed adaptation.

As
I have repeatedly said, I feel this is the right move. It strikes a good
balance between the text as it appears, conventional European fantasy, and
avant-garde theory. In the end, I know that the blood, sweat, and tears which I
am pouring into this creation will be worth it.

Since
I have never before worked on a super-imposed adaptation, but have always
wanted to since the publication of the many ‘spin-off’ adaptations of various
classic works, I am having a great deal of fun with this project. Though I was
excited about the possibilities which came with the translated-adaptation, as I
said a little bit ago, I have not given up on the details of that world. In fact,
I plan on using those details in creating an original novella or novel. So, all
is well.